Shelf bracket construction



Oct. 17, 1933. H, F. KEIL SHELF BRACKET CONSTRUCTION Filed July 21, 1931 BY 1 AT ORNEY 4 Patented Oct. 17, 1933 UNITEDISTATES PATENTOOFFITCE I r 1,931,321 SHELF BRACKET CONSTRUCTION Henry F. Keil, Scarsdale, .N. Y., assignorto Francis Keil & Son, Inc., a corporation of New York Application July 21, 1931'. Serial No. 552,085

' [2 Claims; (o1.24s 19) 5v may be readily and conveniently: achieved.

Other objects will be in part obvious or in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the fea- 1 tures of, construction, combinationsof elements,

and arrangements of parts as will be exemplified in the structure to be hereinafter described and the scope of the application; of which, will .be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing in which is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention,

Figure 1 is a side elevation,'partly in central vertical section, of the assembled bracket contstruction;

Figure 2 is an end elevation as seen from the 30, left in Figure 1, and

Figure3 is an end elevation of the bracket per se, asit appears from the left in Figure 1 but with the vertical support in that figure removed. f Similar reference characters refer to similar drawing. r As conducive to a; clearer .understandingof certain features of my invention, it may at this 40 extending support is'provided with a series of keyhole slots in order to accommodate the head of the clamping bolt through the large part of the slot and the shank of the clamping boltin the narrow part of the slot; these bolts have.

to beef substantial size for practical requirements and hence the keyhole slots individually are likewise large, resultingfin a great weakening of the vertical support (the latter being generally of sheet metal of channel cross-section) together with a very unsightly appearance. When used in display windows or show cases,

this keyhole slot construction is highly disadvan- 5 tageousand its unsightliness is all the more pro-v porting member is provided with so called key- Another object is ,to provide a' parts throughout the seveul views' of the.

point he noted that bracket constructions have heretofore been proposed in which'the vertically nouncedby the necessarily greater width of stock required in the vertical supports. One of the dominant aims of this invention ,to avoid such objections and disadvantages as have just been noted. g

Referring 'nowfto the' dr'awing and more particularly toFigure 1, I have shown a bracket generally indicated at 10 and made up of flat stock or strap metal bent at right angles to pro- 'vide a horizontal shelf-supporting portion 10 and a vertically extending portion 10 adapted to rest against the frontface 11 of a vertically extending support 11. i v

. The vertical supporting member 11 is made of sheet metal of suitable gageandis of channel cross-section, having a front wall 11% and two rearwardly extending flanges 11 and 11, the latter being adapted to rest against a wall and the support llbeing secured to the latter in any suitable manner as by screws or bolts.

The vertical support 11 is provided with a series of.;vertically arranged slots, such as the slots 12, 13, 14, 15,16, etc. (Figures 2 and ,1)

which areof relatively srhall width; "hence the width of the supporting. member 11, as viewed in Figure 2, may bei much less thanis the case. if these slots were of the keyhole shape. Also, I am enabled torusea lighter gage or weight of metalforthe channel 11 for a given load as compared with the channel having keyhole slots because in the latter case so much metal has been removed from the cross-section that, to provide adequate strength in so much of the cross-sec-" tion asis allowed to" remain, the weight or gage of the metalused'must be'rnuch greater than with the construction that I- employ. 'These nar-, row slots 12, 13, etc., are suitablyspaced from one another, as is indicated inFigures 2 and 1;

, As isbetter shown in Figure 1, the vertical f portion 10 of the bracket 10 is of sufiicient length to more than overlap two successive slots in the channel .11; adjacent its upperend, portion 10 is forced or bowed toward the right, as by a punch, as is indicated at 10, and this bulging part 10 is provided with a round hole 10 (see ed shank 1'7 of a clamping device generally indicated at'17. The bulging part 10 extends pref- .Figure 3) through which passes the round thread! erably-only vertically to provide a vertically ex-" 7 tendingslot or recess 10 in the rear or leftha'ndiace of the vertical portion 10 of the bracket 10. The clamping member 17 has a head 17 (see Figures 3 and 1) adapted to pass through any one of the slots 12, 13, etc., in the vertical support 11, and this head 17" is joined to the cylindrical threaded shank 1'7 by an intermediate flattened shank portion 1'? that fits into the vertically extending recess 10 A nut 18 is threaded onto the shank 17 and it is of a diameter greater than the vertically extending bulging part 10, its left-hand'end face 18 being concaved so as to extend over this portion 10 and so that the peripheral left-hand end portions of the nut 18 engage squarely against the plane face of the vertical portion 10 of the bracket 10.

The flattened shank portion 10 in thus interfitting Wlfihthfi vertically extending recess 10 prevents the rotation of the clamping device 17 unless, of course, the nut 18 is backed off the threaded shank 1'7 suificiently to permit the shank portion 17 to ride out of the recess 10 Thus, the head 1'7 is always held so that it extends or lies in a vertical plane and is thus always in appropriate alinement for passage through a slot in the vertical member 11. The head 17 moreover, is shaped so that a part of it can, upon the bracket 10 being dropped after the head 17 has been inserted through a slot, take in back of thewall 11 so that a subsequent tightening upof the nut 18 securely clamps the bracket 10 between the nut and the head 17 I A brace 19, preferably 'ofround stock, ex-

H tends diagonally from the outer end of the brackin back of the front wall 11 of the vertical support 11.

The round portion of the brace 19 adjacent the flattened end 19 is'threaded as at 199 and carries a nut 19* which, when the parts are assembled as shown in Figure 1, may be thread ed toward the left and thus coact with the clamping device 17 in clamping the bracket '10 to its support 11.

As is better shown in Figures 2 and 3, the

' plane of the flattened'portion' 19 is vertical and is-substantially coincident with the vertical plane of the clamping head 17*. These flattened p'or ticns 17 and 19 are thus in vertical alinement (seeliigure 3) and are spaced vertically from. each other so that they may readily be inserted thr'ough'two' of the slots in the channel support 11; in Figures 1 and 2' these parts will be seen to be inserted through the slots 15 and 14,

respectively, and; upon the bracket 10 being thereupon moved downwardly, these two parts take in'back of the front wall 11 -as is better shown in Figure 1. The nut 18, which is preferably knurled for manual operation, may then be tightened up so as to securely clamp the parts 11 and 10 to- 5 gether.

be' utilized to clamp these two parts together Thenut 19 on the brace 19 may also in coaction with the part 19*, or it may be used to adjust the shelf-supporting portion 10 of the bracket'into the desired horizontal plane.

By reason of such'features of construction as I'have above described, Iam able to provide a neat and compact shelf support; the stock or strap material used in the portions 10 10 maybe of 'any desired width and because I am able to use narrow slots in the vertical support 11, the

ficing rigidity'or strength. Such advantages as 1 these it is impossible to achieve with the known type of bracket construction where keyhole slots are employed. Furthermore, the indented or bulging part 10 of the vertical portion 10 of the bracket extends vertically and is of relatively narrow width; it may thus be readily accommo-. dated in a strap material of less width than it has heretofore been necessary to employ. It will thus be seen that there has been provided in this invention a construction in which the various objects noted, together with many thoroughly practical advantages are successfully achieved and that I am enabled to achieve a neater appearance and a more compact and less expensive construction, all without sacrificing rigidity, strength, or dependibility of, action.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention and as many changes might be made in' the embodiment above set forth, it is to beunderstood that all matter here'- inbefore set forth, or shown in the accompanying drawing, is to be interpreted as not in a'limiting sense.

' Iclaim: 1 1. In bracket construction, in'combination, a

vertical support having vertically extending narrow slots, a bracket made of strap metal. having a horizontal portion for receiving a shelf or the like and a vertical portion adapted to rest against 2 I said support, said vertical portion having an out wardly bulged part with a central aperture there in, and clamping means having a part extending through said aperture and another part shaped to pass through a slot in said support, and an intermediate part interlocked against rotation with said bulged part and anut threaded onto said first part and concaved to encompass therein saidbulged part, for securing said bracketto the i latter. I

2. In bracket construction, in combination, a vertical support having vertically 'extendingnarvrow slots, a bracket made of strap metalbaviiig a horizontal portion for receiving a shelf or the like and avertical portion adapted'to rest against saidsupport, said vertical portion having an out- .Wardly bulged part with a centralaperture there-i in and having a hole vertically s' aced fromsaid bulged part, a bracing memberdiagonally con necting said two portions of saidbra'cket and hav-. :7

ing a narrow Hook-shaped part projecting through said hole in said vertical portion and adapted to be received by one of said slotsfsaid outwardly bulged part being, upon the concave face thereof, provided with a vertically extend;

ing slot adapted substantially to register with one" part and said shank prevent rotation of the bolt relative to said bracket, and a nut between which and said head said support and vertical portion are clamped together.

' HENRY'F. KE ILQ, 15

illustrative and: 

